Over the past few years, especially since the height of the economic crisis, more and more women have turned to motorcycling both as a way to save on fuel costs, but also to experience the joys of the open road. In an article recently published by Consumer Reports, some tips are provided for women looking to enter the sport for the first time.
To kick off National Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month (May), Allstate Insurance Company will continue its efforts to donate standardized warning signs for motorcycle safety with its “Once is Never Enough” (ONE) program with the first installation of 2013. ONE is an awareness campaign that encourages people to look twice for motorcycles at intersections and aims to help reduce the number of motorcycle crashes at intersections by proposing installations of permanent motorcycle warning signs in 20 U.S. cities this year. Additionally, a new Allstate Motorcycle Facebook mapping application was created in response to the numerous requests from the rider community to help bring awareness to other hazardous road conditions. Continue Reading »
Eric Wood, AMA Pro racer and owner of Woodcraft Technologies Inc., knows a thing or two about making a sportbike go fast. He also knows that racers, especially at the club level, inevitably hit the ground. Thankfully, there are products like the Woodcraft bar end sliders to minimize the damage in a crash.
The economic downturn hit the motorcycle world particularly hard, as many factory-backed road racing efforts closed shop. The decision, while unfortunate, isn’t hard to understand, as racing at the highest levels isn’t cheap, and a factory involvement means added pressure to succeed, which ultimately means spending more money to do so.
Through it all, however, Yamaha has remained involved with the sport, fielding factory teams and sponsoring various riding schools and even racetracks. Now, on the heels of the second round of the AMA Pro Road Racing Championship, May 31 – June 2, at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, the track has announced a multi-year agreement that will make Yamaha its official motorcycle. Continue Reading »
The Motorcycle Safety Foundation announced it has updated the curriculum for its Basic RiderCourse training program. The updates include new classroom content as well as new practical exercises, with a strong emphasis on collision avoidance.
The MSF‘s updates are the product of $2.4 million worth of research which began in 2010. The new curriculum includes approximately 40% more content on rider perception and finding escape paths, 30% more on negotiating curves and cornering and 15% more practice time for swerving and other crash-avoidance skills. Continue Reading »
Motorcycle traffic fatalities increased by about 9% in 2012, says a new report by the Governors Highway Safety Association. The report examined data from all 50 states and the District of Columbia, and produced a preliminary estimate based on data collected from the first nine months of 2012.
Based on those figures, the report projects 5,027 fatalities in 2012, a 9% increase from the 4,612 fatalities reported in 2011. Again, this is a preliminary estimate based primarily on data from the first nine months of 2012 and the final total may turn out to be a bit higher or a bit lower than 5000. Last year’s GHSA report, for example, estimated a toll of 4,500 fatalities, a figure that turned out to be 2.4% lower than the actual year-end tally. Continue Reading »
KTM has initiated a recall on 2013 two-stroke off-road motorcycles because of a problem with the throttle cable. The models affected are the 125 EXC, 125 EXC Six Days, 125 SX, 150 SX, 150, XC, 200 EXC, 200 XC-W, 250 EXC, 250 EXC Six Days, 250 SX, 250 XC, 250 XC-W, 300 EXC, 300 EXC Six Days, 300 XC, 300 XC-W, 85 SX, and 85 SXS.
According to KTM, the throttle cable on affected models can get pinched between the throttle cable wheel and the top of the throttle housing assembly. This flaw may result in the loss of throttle control, increasing the risk of a crash.
KTM says the problem was due to an improperly-produced upper throttle housing from a supplier. A replacement throttle housing has been designed to address the problem. Authorized KTM dealers will replace the throttle housing and the throttle cable wheel. The repair should take about 10 minutes and will be done free of charge to consumers. Continue Reading »
Anti-lock brake technology has become fairly commonplace for motorcycles now, and it sometimes comes as a bit of a surprise when a major manufacturer does not offer ABS as an option on certain models. The European Parliament making ABS mandatory by 2016 has helped push things along, as manufacturers work to equip their models with the technology ahead of the deadline, not just for the European market but also for other markets including the U.S.
New documents released by the California Air Resources Board reveal Kawasaki will offer an ABS version for its 2014 Vulcan 1700 cruisers and tourers for American consumers. The only current Vulcan 1700 with ABS in Kawasaki’s 2013 U.S. lineup is the Voyager. The ABS-equipped Voyager uses Kawasaki‘s K-ACT (Kawasaki Advanced Coactive-braking Technology) technology which disengages ABS when braking at already low speeds.
For 2014, U.S. consumers will have an ABS option for the rest of Kawasaki’s Vulcan 1700 lineup including the Nomad, the Vaquero and the Classic, in addition to Voyager. The CARB executive orders for the Vulcan 900 lineup however still do not include ABS options. Continue Reading »
In the wake of the deadly bombing attacks at the Boston Marathon earlier this week, the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, announced security measures being taken for this weekend’s MotoGP round. Circuit organizers point out these measures are standard protocol for the track and are the same as those used in last November’s Formula 1 round, but in light of recent events, decided it was a good idea to assure visitors of the security measures in place.
“Circuit of The Americas hosts large-scale sports and entertainment events throughout the year, and as a matter of practice, we restrict the types of items that can be brought into the venue by patrons and others working at the track,” says Julie Loignon, vice president of public & media relations. “We work closely with public safety and emergency services personnel at the City, County, State and Federal level to monitor activities in and around the facility. We have been in touch with local law enforcement following [Monday]‘s unfortunate events in Boston, Mass., and will work with them throughout the upcoming weekend to ensure we conduct a safe and secure event.” Continue Reading »
Pirelli sure knows how to make an impression. Is there a more dramatic way to test the stopping ability of Pirelli’s new Angel GT sport touring tire, than on the flight deck of an aircraft carrier? After all, these surfaces are used to the physics of 30,000-pound fighter jets decelerating from 150 mph to a dead stop in a matter of seconds. Surely that should suffice for a Kawasaki Ninja 1000 stopping from a speed of just 60 mph.
And that’s just what Pirelli decided to do, holding the press launch of the Angel GT on the Italian Navy’s Cavour aircraft carrier anchored in the Mediterranean Sea at the Marina Militare‘s Taranto Naval base. And if that’s not enough, Pirelli enlisted the recently-retired World Superbike Champion Max Biaggi to show the collection of journalists – including our very own Troy Siahaan – how it’s done. Continue Reading »
